This research was conducted and the report written by Audrey Bottjen, Nelson Rombek Ezron, Ruei Hoth Gony, and the CSRF team.
The Conflict Sensitivity Resource Facility (CSRF) is approaching 10 years since its establishment in 2016. Since independence and over the last ten years, the South Sudan context has experienced significant changes, as South Sudanese citizens have endured a myriad of political, security and socio-economic challenges. The aid sector has equally changed significantly, with a particularly dramatic shifts in 2025, which may lead to the biggest sectoral change in future years as aid rapidly shrinks. Hence, CSRF’s anniversary comes at a moment when the aid sector in South Sudan is facing unprecedented challenges to its funding, principles, credibility and vision. These challenges necessitate critical thinking and bold action at a time when resources and options are critically low. As of writing, many aid organisations in South Sudan have seen severe cuts in staffing, some have closed, and others are likely to withdraw in the coming months.
This paper argues that in this moment, when many in the aid sector are focused on survival and business continuity, radical changes are possible for transformation and reinvention of the aid sector. Such changes are needed to address three sets of critical challenges:
- Aid’s interaction with power, government, and governance;
- Aid’s interaction with society, inclusion, and identity;
- Aid’s horizon – Addressing symptoms but not root causes.
Change must be led by systems analysis, looking for leverage points within the system where attitudes and behaviours can meaningfully be influenced.
Read the full research piece here:
